This invention relates to a method of stopping gastrointestinal bleeding and more particularly to such a method which employs a ferromagnetic tamponading mass pressed against a bleeding gastrointestinal lesion by an externally generated magnetic field.
The difficulties of stopping the bleeding of gastrointestinal lesions such as acutely bleeding ulcers is well known. Although several techniques are presently used to control bleeding, no one of them is without serious deficiencies. For example, procedures to stem the blood flow by cauterizing the lesion with heated probes or lasers introduced into the gastrointestinal tract using gastrointestinal fiberscopes may destroy healthy tissue near the lesion. Furthermore, these techniques require precise identification of the bleeding point and a relatively clear, blood free field. Another technique involves coating the lesion with a tissue cement. Again, accurate placement and a clean, blood-free field are required. Various drugs are also known which have limited utility in controlling, but not completely stopping, blood flow from acutely bleeding gastrointestinal ulcers or other actively bleeding gastrointestinal lesions.
It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a method to staunch the blood flow from acutely bleeding gastric ulcers or other acutely bleeding lesions.
It is a further object to provide such a method which requires neither a clean, blood-free field nor the accurate positioning of an endoscopic catheter in relation to the lesion in order to be effective.
A still further object is to provide a method for stopping the blood flow from a gastric ulcer or other actively bleeding gastrointestinal lesion which is easier to implement than currently known procedures.